


There's nothing in the air

by DatOneCrayCrayWriter



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Otabek is oblivious, Pining, Social Media, a lot of silliness to come later, additional tags to be added later, everyone else is onto them, my first contribution to the fandom so pls be gentle, the skating squad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 04:13:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10586196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DatOneCrayCrayWriter/pseuds/DatOneCrayCrayWriter
Summary: It takes a random nickname, a crap-ton of memes, and a long walk in the cold night to finally get a stoic man to question if he's truly in denial.Or better known as: the times when Otabek realizes how his friendship with Yuri Plisetsky isn't as simple as he's always thought it was.





	

Otabek Altin wasn’t a dumbass.

Throughout the years, he’s known as many things. “Substandard” was the one that started the chain, rooted back all the way to the novice classes back in the first years of his skating career. “Weirdo” was dubbed by his peers as they found his distant from the common cliques to be unnatural, even for his already very nonchalant self. “Man of mystery” and “aloof” followed up not long after as he’s exposed to international competitions. His lack of social activities only emphasizes these traits even further in the public’s eye.

Of course, there were interesting ones like “Hero” and “Bear Prince”, which he personally didn’t mind, as well as “Golden Boi” – a courtesy from his sisters back at home – which was by far a favorite of his. Eventually, having nicknames became something natural for Otabek. From adjectives to silly titles based on his lifestyle and interests, there was no limit to the creativity of those around him, and he thought he’s already heard the worst.

 

“Oh, my gosh… Beks, you’re such a dumbass.”

He’d never expect this to be a new addition.

It hit him on one chilly evening during what he thought was just another chat with his younger sister Ayzere, as she brought up the matter of the newest picture on a fellow skater’s Instagram. It was taken after a competition as a mean to show off another new gold medal, Otabek’s gold medal, and the man himself found it strange how such a typically casual thing would be the subject of this kind of conversation. It’s not like duo-medal showcase was such a strange thing to do, right?

 

The “Dumbass” was officially dubbed in a matter of:

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t seen the way he looks at you…”

“What way? Ayzere, he’s my best friend. I would never assume such a thing.”

“There you go again with the Best Bro card. Bro, this is getting old. Do you seriously never notice?”

“Notice what?”

“That your best friend is in love with you.”

“Real funny, Ayzere…”

“What, does that mean that you _really_ don’t know?”

 

He was truly confused.

“Know… what?”

 

And it was just like that.

 

The so-called subject of his affections, as pointed out by Ayzere, was Yuri Plisetsky – fellow skater, competitor, cat-enthusiast and best friend. Ever since that time in Barcelona, the two have had what others would consider as a “Dynamic Duo” bond. They’d often be seen hanging out together, featured in each other’s photos and public snaps and many times, sharing the podium together. Despite the long distance between them and the not-too-frequent meet-ups from mutual competitions, somehow they both make it work. Off-rink hangouts and sightseeing, scheduled almost daily Skype conversations, and the data-draining amount of messages back and forth… Otabek’s confident they had this friendship thing nailed.

Being friends with _the_ Yuri Plisetsky was, as many would say, completely unreal. Even to this day people would still occasionally ask him just how he did it. And to all of them, he’d reply “Do what?” To him, this friendship came very naturally. There were barely any persuasions involved, and Yuri definitely wasn’t as loud and difficult as people told him. They clicked almost instantly, and their relationship was laid-back, organic, and just… enjoyable, like how all friendships should be.

Over the years, they’ve been one another’s greatest competition, as well as greatest support. Skype’s recorder would have hours of their conversations, a majority of them devoted to uplifting each other’s spirit before competitions via references and reenactments of their favorite shows, all with extremely heavily accented English. Motivational quotes on “aesthetical” photography would be exchanged now and again. Both already understood their friend well enough to immediately know what to do when the other was having an “I don’t think I can make it” moment out of the blue. Yuri would have stashes of crazy remixes of Otabek’s favorite songs ready to send him cracking in just a matter of few clicks, and Otabek’s made sure to keep an on-growing list of “Big cats doing silly things” videos saved as his bookmarks just in case his best friend wasn’t feeling too peachy that day. It was an unspoken, but mutual understanding that soon became tradition, just like the ten other things they’ve had together. It was just like that.

The casualty in their friendship has reached a point where Otabek didn’t even notice that he might’ve started to like Yuri more than just a friend.

These recent times, their bromance started to get just a little more intimate, on both sides too, for all that matters. They’ve been seeing one another more often, and there’s a tendency to show up during each other’s practices, even before one could call it a day. Shared meals and snacks was such a chill activity that it’s almost a standard that they can automatically take from the other’s share of chips, or the clean part of their Oreo. Yuri would also be seen receiving lifts on Otabek’s motorcycle a lot more, for all the reasons ever. Late night outings became a lot more relaxed as well, even when going clubbing wasn’t involved, and for good reasons too.

 

Supposedly awkward moments happened, all, the, time. To everyone’s surprises, somehow the two still kept things going like it was no big deal. From the most natural ice-cream-wiping-off-Otabek’s-face, to the casual back-rubs on the bench after practices, to the many, many cicada-blocks they’ve done with each other, some even in public, to the infamous outfit-swaps (or was it stealing) that they could never hear the end of on social media. Yes, all that had happened, and _more_.

The problem with that was how he was so accepting of that shift, without thinking twice about the context of the situation. And now that Otabek thought about it, he realized he shouldn’t have been so chill like he was.

There’s no lying that Otabek wasn’t the sharpest of them all when it comes to emotions. That comes with the inability to read between the lines, body languages, and the hints in one’s actions. Most of the time, he just assume things were how they were. It wasn’t his fault, entirely. Being the modest, inexpressive and straight-forward person he is this is how he sees the world, at least for most of the time.

 

“You’re unbelievable, Otabek” Ayzere laughed out in disbelief, after pointing out what’s supposed to be obvious. “How are you not aware of all this? I know you’re as dense as a freaking log but… This is like, a thunderstorm-worth of affection. Unless you’re romance-repulsed, or just really, really, bad, there’s no way you could’ve read things as otherwise!”

Otabek groaned with his head thrown back against the headboard of his bed:

“Alright, alright, taunt the only single adult in the family all you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was completely unaware of all this. I swear these are all unintentional, accidents at best. What, you think I _wanted_ for things to turn out like this?”

“Um, yes? Or was that also not obvious enough?”

_What?_

Giving the past a second thought, Otabek realized that okay, maybe he _was_ a bit gayer than what he’s given himself credit for. There’s one too many times he’d find himself dazed off mid-conversation with Yuri, one occasion in particular was because he noticed the braid on the blonde’s hair was a Dutch braid, rather than French braid, and how it fit the growing length of Yuri’s hair just a little bit better. Out of nowhere he became weaker in physique, as his face heated up every time Yuri let out the almost-breathless laugh that he thought was exceptionally and uncharacteristically cute. This also happens whenever Yuri hugs onto his waist on their motorcycle rides, with the additional rest of his cheek against the back of Otabek’s leather jacket that got his heart racing. There were so many little moments like that, and every time, Otabek was struck just a little bit harder, whether he noticed it or not. Thanks to his stoical front, those emotions were never easily read by anyone, even himself.

 

“… And let’s not talk about the fact that you already have the newest Yuri Plisetsky’s merchandise preordered the moment they send out email notifications…”

“Okay, okay, you can stop. I get the point. Supposedly, let’s say you’re right, I like Yura- I mean, Yuri Plisetsky, more than just a friend,” He prompted in the middle of Ayzere rambling about the symptoms of his not-so-low-key puppy-crush. “But how are you so sure that he’d… feel the same about me?”

“You mean beside the fact that he was super chill with whatever random shenanigans _you_ started and vice-versa… Why don’t you double-check his Instagram photos again?”

Curiously, Otabek immediately grabbed his phone and tapped on the little sunset-camera logo.

 

Looking at Yuri’s posts, the first thing he wanted to check was the newest one, the one that started it all, which only has been taken recently. It was a double selfie Yuri took of both after they shared a podium, again, with him taking silver and his best friend taking gold for himself. It was such an accomplishment, for Otabek personally, as it was one of the most complex routines he ever had to do – his coach really wanted to raise the bars to his standards, and it was terrifying at first. There were many moments he thought he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, even when he’s on the ice, but ultimately, he did, in the most graceful and impressive way possible, if he has to say so himself.

He was truly shocked, his coach was pleased of him, and all his family, friends and supporters were stunned. Everybody congratulated from here on end the moment the results were in, and the sheer amount of love was overwhelming. One person that stood out from the crowd though, was Yuri. The moment they got off the podium, Yuri immediately went in for the biggest, tightest, almost-body-lifting hug ever, with “I’m so, fucking, proud of you, Beka” murmured repeatedly against his shoulder, refusing to let go for a good minute. The feeling of it was close to electrifying, though Otabek just assumed it to be just him not recovering from the competition just yet. After the grip loosened up, however, the Russian immediately offered to take a selfie, claiming that they needed to show off their achievement, with eyes bright and the biggest grin. How can Otabek say no to that? And then, with their faces squished cheek-to-cheek, medals holding up proudly… Snap!

Perhaps at the time, he’s still vibrating from the heat of the moment that he couldn’t focus on anything else other than the camera, and he might’ve not noticed it the first few times he saw the photo, but _now_ that he truly paid attention to details, he realized something.

Yuri’s eyes weren’t on the camera.

You learn something new about your friend every day, and today in particular, it was the fact that Yuri was one of those rare people with steady hands who manages to take excellent selfies even when his eyes weren’t focused.

“Living up to the name ‘Altin’ again~ That’s my boi right there!!!” was the caption, along with various symbols, most of which were hearts. Hold up, has there been this many hearts before? Or did Otabek miss it, yet again, like how he did when it comes to the gaze Yuri gave him as they were taking the photo? And if he didn’t know any better, he thought Yuri was blushing too…

 

Otabek soon discovered that he was in fact, the second most common subject in Yuri’s photos, the first place belonging to his cat. He’s also unaware of just how many photos they’ve had together, “many” being a mere underestimation. Sure, he double-tapped on them all before, but it’s not like he was one to notice any other intentions behind what seemed to be just a casual bro-to-bro moment?

Then again… half of these shouldn’t be considered to be “casual” at the slightest.

Every time they hung out in a new city, there’d be at least one photo taken by Yuri to keep the memory of the place, whether it’s both of their faces, or just ones of Otabek only, taken without his knowledge. Otabek eventually found out about them nonetheless, and has given each a like. What he failed to notice the first time, and only sees the next few times around, was how Yuri was looking at him, as well as the captions to each photo. “Look how fucking adorbs he is”, “Best company you can ever ask for”, “How can anyone be this perfect??? The fuk???” and “#goals” were some of the more noticeable ones.

 

Wow… was this really how Yuri thought of him?

 

Granted, the majority of photos taken from their hangouts all had some sort of vague wordings to their captions. Ones that could’ve easily been mistaken for romantic undertones, such as “Going out with the best boi” or “Netflix and Chillin~”, though Yuri tended to keep the meanings disclosed. The pictures themselves were of them showing physical intimacy in the forms of cuddles, laying next to one another, or matching hand-gestures. A lot of their friends, as pointed out by Ayzere, picked up on these undertones almost right then. Otabek, as the person who only cares for the pictures, not the hundreds of comments below, never realized this sort of reflection on their relationship, until now.

Yuuri and Viktor were the ones who apparently noticed the vibes the quickest, thanks to what they called “parent’s sensibility”, always asking about what kind of relationship Yuri and him was having in 70% of the photos with their faces in the same frame. Phichit and Chris was a close second, but their implications came in all the styles of teasing (and the ungodly amount of innuendos from Chris), resulting to the various angry-face-and-fist-emoticons “STFU”, “I will cut u” replies in return. But there was nothing more to that.

Okay, maybe Otabek should’ve noticed something was up when those same people ask him similar questions over and over, but then again to all of which, he only considered as attempts in joking around, and has answered them like how he always does:

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

Yuri’s eyes had always been the most outstanding feature, in Otabek’s opinion. It was the first thing that captivated him from the moment they met – the strong, determined eyes of a soldier. As their friendship progressed, he’s seen variations of the same blue-ish, green-ish orbs. There was the fiery gaze so sharp it could physically cut a man; the intimidating glares of a tiger that he tends to throw at his competitors, fueled by his combativeness and hardheadedness; the depthless pools of sadness during his lows, his emotions made clear even when Otabek can only sees them through the convenient of his laptop screen; and then there was the focused, deep turquoises as he’s occupied in his own little world whenever left in deep thoughts. All of those eyes and more, Otabek’s familiar with them all, and he noticed them more carefully than anyone else. Because of that, it surprised him how he was able to miss the seemingly obvious one of them all.

The gleaming eyes fixed on him.

The most recent months-worth of photos on Yuri’s Instagram, like Ayzere commented, were highlighted by the way Yuri was looking at him. He was oblivious to the softened gaze his way, even when he’s doing the most random things ever known. Those eyes were… foreign. They weren’t as sharp, they weren’t blank, or confused, and there was no company of the Russian’s knitted eyebrows. They were gentle, kind, and perhaps, even content. Among the blues and greens, Otabek noticed the always-present gleams, gleams that he couldn’t help but read as… adoration, admiration… affection. Yuri looked as if he’s glowing. 

He’s seen these gazes before – in movies, whenever a romantic moment happens, those eyes show up, as if it was the most natural reaction ever. People would look at their lovers like that, smoldering, alluring, as if there were so much to say, yet they’re too helpless… Eyes are the windows to the soul, and from them alone, it was obvious enough to how one would feel towards the subject of matter. It was the highest from of subtext, and it showcases more than just a fixation.

 

Was it obvious enough that they were both on the same boat here?

Apparently not, for Otabek Altin.

 

But, my god… he really _was_ a dumbass.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as an attempt to escape the pressures of finals, and my very first contribution to the YOI fandom!! After some time I finally got the courage to try my hands out at fanfic-writing again, so I literally have no idea what I was doing, and I don't have a beta. Things kinda got (and will get) really random, so please excuse me xDD
> 
> Otabek's sister's name is from a headcanon by [this blog](https://ask--otayuri.tumblr.com/)! Ayzere Altin sounds like the coolest idea ever, so why the heck not?
> 
> The title is a shoutout to GSNK's opening! Which is actually a favorite of mine. The title of the chapter, however, is actually inspired by Studio Killers' "Jenny" (both, btw, if you aren't familiar with, you should totally check out!!!)
> 
> Visit me on [Tumblr](http://music-x-rose.tumblr.com/) if you wanna fangirl about YOI and/or Otayuri!! 
> 
> For now, please enjoy~


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